The Beloved (pbuh) and the Qur’an

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers

Salaam Alaikum

Why we read about the Beloved (pbuh)

We all need a reminder every so often- I know I really really do. Sometimes when our eman is low, it is just inspiring to hear about the man and the prophet who was the beloved of God (pbuh). Allah has said that the Prophet (pbuh) was sent as a Mercy to all the worlds and thus the beloved of Allah is a mercy from the Almighty to humanity. Through his example, we see the difficulties and how he dealt with them; we see his compassion and mercy; we see his determination with the message; and we see his closeness to Allah. We encounter his mercy towards us when he prays for us without ever having met us, which should only make us think: If the Prophet (pbuh) has this much love towards his Ummah, and this much mercy, then how is the Mercy of Allah, which is infinitely greater than that of His beloved? And surely if he is named the Beloved, then this should make us want to be like him in order to gain closeness to Allah?

In the Qur’an, Allah has said:

“Whoever obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah…” (Surat An-Nisa, 4:65)

The Qur’an
Sometimes it is saddening when we think that we missed out on being with the Prophet (pbuh). Indeed the Prophet (pbuh) described that his passing would be the biggest calamity to befall the Ummah. Umar (ra) said that whenever a calamity befell him, one of the things he would do would be to remember the greatest calamity that he has had to face, which is losing the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and that would put any trial he was going through in perspective. While we do not have the beloved (pbuh) with us, we do have his Guide and what his actions were based upon: The Holy Qur’an, sent down from Allah the Ever-Living, Who never dies.

The Qur’an is the greatest thing we have as Muslims; it is the unaltered Words of God as sent down to His Messenger more than 1400 years ago. In his farewell sermon, the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“I leave behind me two things, the Qur’an and my Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.”

Indeed, Allah has said:

“Had We sent down this Quran on a mountain, you would certainly have seen it falling down, splitting asunder because of the fear of Allah, and We set forth these parables to men that they may reflect.” (Surat Al-Hashr, 59:21)

SubhanAllah- if the Qur’an has this effect on a huge mountain, how should the Qur’an’s effect be on our hearts? Or is our Qur’an something that we see once a year, during Ramadan, and forget it on our shelves at all other times?
How was the Prophet (pbuh) with the Qur’an? After the verses of “Iqra” were revealed, verses from Surat Al-Muzammil, Surat Al-Muddathir and Surat Al-Fatiha were revealed (according to many scholars, from the greatness of Surat Al-Fatiha, it was revealed twice, in Makkah and in Madinah!) and then revelation stopped. Some say it was for a week, and others contend it was for two months. During this period (whether it was week or two months), the Prophet (pbuh) became very distressed. Why? Because he was away from the Qur’an, and because he feared that he may have done something wrong that Allah had left him. SubhanAllah- do we feel this way when we are far from the Qur’an? That we are not being blessed with its presense in our lives? Thereafter, Surat Ad-Dhuha was revealed, with the verse, “In no way has your Lord disregarded you, and in no way has He disfavored you” (Surat Ad-Dhuha, 93:3)

What about the closest of people to the Prophet (pbuh)? It was reported that Abu Bakr (ra) set up a place of prayer outside his hourse, within his yard, and would pray there and read Qur’an. When he would recite the Qur’an, he would cry so much that people would stop by to see what had made a man like Abu Bakr (ra) cry?? Qureish became so afraid that they told a man who had pledged to protect Abu Bakr (ra) to tell him to go do his prayers and reciting of Qur’an in his own house, for the fear of the ‘fitna’ it would cause their women and children. How many times have our hearts moved when we read the Qur’an? How many times have we imagined that these Words are being said directly to us?

Allah brings to life dead hearts with the Qur’an, like He brings to life the dead earth with rain. Look at how the Qur’an changed Umar (ra), who used to beat even female slaves when he had heard that they accepted Islam! He then became a man who wept when he remembered his sins and his ways before Islam.
Allah (swt) has described that the Qur’an gives us:

* Peace and tranquility of heart: “Those who believe and whose hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah; now surely by Allah’s remembrance are the hearts set at rest.” (Surat Ar-Ra’d, 13:28)
* Physical and spiritual healing, and mercy: “And We reveal of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, and it adds only to the perdition of the unjust.” (Surat Al-Israa, 17:82)
* Guidance: “Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel-for he brings down the (revelation) to thy heart by Allah’s will, a confirmation of what went before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe,-” (Surat Al-Baqara, 2:97)

So what is our duty towards the Qur’an? We must make sure to read it at least once a day:
– Make sure you have a Qur’an schedule, make it a big and regular part of our life. If reading is difficult, say that you will read at least 1 page a day, with translation/tafseer if you can, and if it is not difficult (by this I mean you do not have difficulty reading Arabic), at least a juz’ everyday so that we can complete it in one month: The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Study the Qur’an (regularly) for it will act as an intercessor and intercede for its readers on the Day of Judgement”. (Sahih Muslim)

– Try to improve yourself, and make goals like “I will perfect my pronounciation” or “I will learn proper tajweed”: The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “A person who recites the Qur’an and reads it fluently will be in the company of the obedient and noble angels, and he who reads the Qur’an haltingly and with difficulty will have a double recompense.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

– Try to memorize with understanding: Allah says, “…Are those who know and those who do not know alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful.” (Surat Az-Zumar, 39.9). Also, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A reader of the Qur’an will be called upon on the Day of Judgment: ‘Start reading the Qur’an and ascend the (high) stages of the Heaven, and recite slowly as you had been reciting in the world, as your abode will be where the last verse of your recitation will end.” (Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi)